In minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as laparoscopic procedures, one or more small incisions are made in a body to allow access for the necessary surgical tools. If there is a need to re-enter the body after a surgical procedure, a mechanism for doing so must be put in place. For targeted or prophylactic chemotherapy, post-operative applications of a substance can be made by re-instituting an environment in the patient in which subsequent applications of the substance may be made. This may be accomplished by leaving a port device in the patient after the surgical procedure, or by surgically placing a port in the patient in preparation of a non-surgical treatment regimen.
The port may be a device capable of providing a sanitary access point to a body, where the device is a resealable mechanism that attaches to the exterior of the skin and the interior wall of the skin. The port permits a device for applying a substance to the body to be reconnected to the patient at a later time to apply the substance or other treatment. One example of this type of port is an enteral feeding tube port.
The design of re-entry ports typically focuses on semi-rigid tubes, such as feeding ports which are meant to transverse from out side the body into an organ such as the stomach. These devices often have a bulb or protrusion at the insertion end to maintain the location of the tube in the organ being accessed, and consist of a rigid or semi-rigid tube or lumen. Catheters, such as urethral catheters for access into the bladder tend to be flexible catheters, usually with a balloon or some type of protrusion that is used to anchor the catheter into the organ to prevent its movement back through the body channel. Intravenous ports, ports or needles that are inserted into a vein, are generally taped or perhaps sutured in place to prevent the accidental removal of the device. Other devices such as flat tubes with holes, sometimes under suction have been used as drains for wounds or to prevent fluid build up in the chest cavity.